OVEG: State Of Flux

Description: The episode open with Lt. Carey (curly-haired gent with no balls, remember?) running down a hill gaily towards Chakotay with an apple he picked off a tree. Apparently they're down here collecting food - good enough, I suppose. Chakotay is down there communing with nature by standing in one spot and just kind of looking around. And then Neelix comes into the scene and tells them the apples are poisonous and crashing Carey's hopes. Huh, you'd think a tricorder would tell them something like that; they can detect the amount of parts per billion of methane in the air, but not "poison apple=bad." Of course, this is Neelix we're talking about, so who knows; they probably reduce wrinkles, cure cancer, and taste like orange-flavored orgasms.

As I'm watching this, incidentally, I'm kind of wondering why Carey's down here. Even aside of the stereotyping around Chakotay, his presence as second officer makes sense, but why a high-ranking member of the Engineering team is taken away from his area of expertise (all things mechanical) and put into a place where nothing is mechanical makes no sense if you assume there's any kind of logic involved. Of course, there isn't so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Pity that they had to send down a greasemonkey, 'cause you know what would be useful? Someone who studied biochemistry, and thus could tell tasty fruit from poison. Of course, that would be Tom Paris, who's in Sickbay, using mechanical things to cure people.

Is it any wonder these dumbasses are lost?

So, now's the moment when Neelix introduces them to Leola root, which tastes like ass, but will nevertheless be mentioned pretty much from this point onward in the series. Chakotay is unimpressed, biting off a piece and spitting it out with contempt. Of course, he'd probably give the same reaction if he did the same thing to a potato, but what choice do you have? It's not as if you've got a tricorder or something to tell about it. But they get to work anyway pulling the roots up because... they're masochists, I don't know. We're at the two minute mark and I've already abandoned this for logic.

Back on Voyager, Tom (who at the moment is piloting the ship, which is something he's really good at, so I'm not sure what he thinks he's doing there instead of realligning the transporter or something he's clueless on) thinks he's found another ship, using some kind of cloaking technology that's following them. Tuvok fires a magic torpedo so they can see them, and it turns out they're probably Kazon. You remember them, right? They are Voyager's enemies and a powerful force in this part of space, which explains why we haven't seen them since the pilot. Janeway's having the away team beamed up to save the precious leola root, but it seems that Seska is missing. Chakotay decides that since it's possible there's hostiles in the area he'll go look for her alone rather than sending a bunch of people with weapons. Chakotay heads off, tricorder out, and enters a cave. Good move; nothing bad has ever happened to them in a cave on this voyage.

It turns out there's some Kazon in here all right, but Chakotay slips past them using the extremely stealthy move known as "they're really stupid." It works like a charm, and he finds Seska; she says she came here for mushrooms for his favorite soup - this is a key plot point for this episode, so pay attention to the whole mushroom thing. The Kazon find them and a firefight begins. Chakotay is shot center of mass, point blank range, so naturally he's mildly injured. Seska helps him up and he carefully limps out because he's been shot in the chest, and he doesn't want to put any extra weight on his, um, chest I guess.

All this idiocy, and we have only now reached the opening credits; how's that for ya?

We cut to Chakotay, recovered from being shot in the chest with a deadly weapon and now working on painting symbols onto a flat rock. I won't even comment further on that. Seska comes in with a serving dish of mushroom soup for Chakotay. She describes how Neelix wouldn't make it the correct way and got into a fight with her over the mushrooms she'd picked (what makes this creepy is that this took place like a year before Seinfeld introduced us to the Soup Nazi, which would be a fitting description). Neelix refuses to prepare the soup the way they want it and locks them away, requiring them to sneak in and do it themselves. This pathetic display is a first for our page: an off screen Stupid Neelix Moment. Honestly, what gives Neelix the authority to dictate how food is to be prepared AND refuse people to prepare it to their own tastes, especially after they were the ones who found it?! My God, this is a ship full of retards! What's worse is that Chakotay actually disciplines everyone involved in the affair, because if someone wants their own mushroom soup, who knows where it'll end! Next, they'll be demanding croutons, CROUTONS!

After Chakotay delivers this mighty justice in the cause of culinary conformity, he walks to the window, and Seska slips up behind him and starts pawing him. I guess they were an item once, which you can tell given their past history in... in... when she gave him some soup, I guess. Chakotay makes it clear that he knows it could never work out, so Seska teases him by saying that she has had her eye on Harry Kim. Wow, I'm sure if I was Chakotay I'd be really worried, if not for the fact that Harry too has lost his balls and taken a subconscious vow of celibacy. Trying to get Harry into sex is like trying to keep a goldfish alive in a bowl: it takes lots of work, it probably will still fail, and even if you succeed, there's not much to show for it. But there's no more time to dwell on that, because Chakotay is called to the bridge. There's a distress signal from the Kazon, and Neelix gets all shifty-eyed and warns that this might be a trap. Yeah, thanks for the tip, shithead. And what are you doing up here? Aren't you supposed to be rolling tanks into a Wendy's right about now? Janeway asks Harry to scan it, and he announces there are fluctuating nucleonic patterns, which if I remember The Cloud right means the ship is alive. Hot damn!

Voyager arrives and they quickly beam over Chakotay, Tuvok, Torres, and Seska. No no no, this is a situation requiring security and Engineering expertise, where is the geologist and the morale officers, huh? Janeway, this slipshod work is going to wind up putting people into situations they're actually trained to understand, and then you know what'll happen? I know what'll happen! Mutinee! Blood running through the hall! F*cking croutons!!! They find a bunch of Kazon that have been fused into the metal of the hull; there's only one who's even still alive. They're going to bring him back to heal him. Also, they find the device that likely did this, and because of some technobabble stuff it's almost certainly Federation. Ominous.

Back in Sickbay, the Doctor says the Kazon is seriously messed up, with metal in his blood and all his cells mutated. They're going to have to replace all the blood in his body, kind of like what they do to Ozzy Osbourne. Janeway doesn't seem pleased, and she's even more upset when she hears about the Federation technology. She wants them to examine it, except, you know, it'd kill people. Normally this wouldn't bother Janeway, but there are appearances to maintain, so she asks if this would even be possible. Tuvok offers three theories. One is that it's not actually Federation technology, but obviously on this show that ain't happening. The second is that another Federation vessel might have been brought by the Caretaker. Chakotay asks if there were any reports of missing starships, but Janeway says "Not to my knowledge." No wonder Captain Ransom is so goddamn bitter. The final choice is that someone on board covertly gave technology to the Kazon. Janeway halts the turbolift and gives Tuvok her best "kill the messenger" look. Tuvok says it's the most likely, even explaining how the Kazon were able to hide themselves from their sensors, since those Oompa Loompa looking cabpage patch kids are pretty dumb.

Up in Engineering they're debating technobabble ways of getting to the device, although this one's forgivable since it's a debate between different techniques that will be significant to the story, and the stuff is presented in a fairly logical way rather than spouting piles and piles of gibberish. Seska gives her plan of about six or seven words, and Torres summarizes it with "one mistake and your dead," rather than spouting about how quantum fluctuations in the subspacial vortex of doom will inevitably cause you to cross the streams, and we all know crossing the streams is bad. Carey suggests "an Expander," which doesn't involve a single bit of jargon, includes a simple diagram, and the explanation is straightforward (they rotate the forcefield out of the way). As technobabble scenes go, this would be a pretty good standard to use, rather than trying to impress us with their ability to spout nonsense. Janeway is very impressed by this and asks how soon they can have it ready, and Torres tells her they can make an attempt tomorrow. Janeways says she wants it done by the end of the day, to which Torres says, "No captain. When I say 'tomorrow,' I mean 'tomorrow.'" Wow, Torres has got more balls than Carey and Harry put together!

Torres puts her team together, which includes Seska, but Chakotay intervenes; he wants Seska coordinating from the bridge. As soon as they're away from the others Seska demands to know what's going on, and Chakotay finally breaks down and says there's concern that she may have been involved with the Kazon. Seska's pretty pissed off, to say the least. (However, as a part of my credit where it's due thing, I've got to admit that when she gets the part of talking about how Chakotay "might as well point a finger at me in front of the entire crew" it was well-played. Rather than being outraged, her tone and expression are of personal betrayal and hurt, that it wasn't that she was accused, but that Chakotay could do something like this to her after what they'd shared. It was a very nice, subtle bit that painted Seska as more than just "the angry Bajoran" she'd been largely portrayed as until now.)

Seska leaves and goes to Sickbay to ask about the Kazon; she's hoping he'll come to so he can explain her innocence. On the way out, Kes stops her; she's been doing the blood tests to find out who can participate in the Ozzy blood-replacement thingie, and it seems that Seska's blood isn't on file. Seska says she just never got around to it, but that it wouldn't make a difference because she had a childhood disease that prevents her from donating blood. Innocent mistake, or deliberate attempt to hide something?

Speaking of hiding things, Tuvok is discussing the results of his work with Janeway and Chakotay. For some hilarious reason, this conversation can only take place if they're all crammed right up against each other, like they were stuck in a phone booth, even though they're in the spacious ready room that has a dias and everything. Anyway, Tuvok's report is that someone sent the signal while the Engineering crew was running a test last week, to help cover their tracks. The signal was sent from Carey's workstation. Is he the victim of a frame-up, or is he the guilty party?

The hug meeting is interrupt by the detection of an approaching Kazon vessel, and then it seems that someone has beamed over to the disabled ship. Yup, it's Seska, doing her plan to either prove her innocence or destroy the evidence (there's no way to tell, of course). There's a debate on what the bridge crew should do, but before you know it, against all advice, Seska went and crossed the streams, and they have to beam her dumb ass over to Sickbay. After that, Carey is called into the ready room, where Tuvok, Chakotay, and Janeway grill him over the signal from his work station. After he's confined to quarters by Tuvok, Chakotay says that he had the motive and opportunity... of course, that applies to Seska too. Janeway points out that Carey has had a distinguished and spotless career, and Seska's been an enemy of the Federation. Chakotay observes that applies to him too then. Ouch.

Back on the bridge, they see the Kazon ship is arriving, and Janeway agrees to let them come over to see the injured Kazon. Apparently proving that Neelix isn't alone in being poorly dressed for this part of space, the Kazon are wearing fur coats covered in vests that look like they were made of granny blankets. An argument breaks out between Janeway and head Kazon over the damaged ship; basically they've got a day to sort this out before the Kazon outnumber Voyager too much for them to resist, so the pressure is on. The Kazon use one of those rings with the poison needle gags to kill the injured Kazon and Janeway tosses them off - no soup for you!

After they're taken care of the Doctor and Kes take Janeway aside and talk about Seska. It turns out that Seska's missing all the common Bajoran blood factors, meaning that she's more than likely Cardassian disguised to look Bajoran. Chakotay has a hard time buying it, but eventually he offers the amusing question to Tuvok (who had also infiltrated his group) "Was anyone on that ship actually working for me?" Yeah, this is definitely a "fool me twice, shame on me" moment there, Chakotay.

The Kazon hail Voyager because Torres and company have beamed over, informing Janeway that if they don't leave it'll be taken as an act of war. Considering they both blew the hell out of each other already in Caretaker, I really fail to see how this is much of a threat. Janeway replies with "You know, I'm really easy to get along with, most of the time," proving she's really not one for introspection. That statement's about as genuine as hearing Harry say "You know, I'm quite the ladies man." Janeway basically threatens to blow the crap out of them if they try anything, and the Kazon back down for the moment. Well, it turns out it's all for nothing, because by the time she finishes browbeating the Kazon Torres finished the job and beamed the device back over to Voyager. It turns out it's a food replicator, using the special bioneural fibers that interact with Voyager's living gelpacks, which means it came from their ship all right.

While Janeway's looking to rub the Kazon's nose in it, Chakotay heads down to Sickbay to talk to Seska. She's obviously taking this personally; she doesn't react with anger at Chakotay's accusation, but of subdued personal anguish, again like he betrayed her (it really steps outside the way she had been betrayed out side this episode; more's the pity). "Why don't you go talk it over with your animal guide?" she says. "I plan to," Chakotay retorts, thus proving that sarcasm is wasted on some people. Chakotay confronts her on the Cardassian issue, but Seska claims that the disease that swept through the Bajoran work camps required a bone marrow transplant from a Cardassian so that she could survive, and that's why her blood's different. She also asks whether he honestly thinks that Chakotay's secrets would be worth a Cardassian agent going to the trouble of pretending to be in love with him. Especially considering how well Chakotay has kept secrets so far this episode, she makes a really valid point.

It seems that the meeting wasn't just about Chakotay looking up a past cackaw-cackaw buddy; he was giving information to Seska the same way that Tuvok gave some to Carey, so they could see if one of them tries something. The two head down to Engineering and wait until finally someone logs in and tries hiding the evidence under Seska's name. This seems to imply it's Carey, but they trace it back and it turns out that it was Seska, trying to make it look like someone else was framing her. The Doctor shows up and explains that he'd already examined the evidence and discounted the disease and transplant as being a possibility; that Seska is a Cardassian. But as Chakotay says, being Cardassian doesn't mean that she's guilty of betraying them (a salient point), which was why they had to wait for her to reveal herself. He asks why she did it.

Now, with all pretenses gone, Seska explains that she did it because of "the incomprehensible decision of a Federation captain." Well, I can't argue with that. Seska points out that if Voyager is going to have any chance of surviving, it needs allies, and powerful ones. Janeway says the technology would change the balance of power out here, to which Seska replies "Change it in our favor." It's interesting, because it doesn't come across as typically "evil" as most of these plans are; it's hard to argue that this kind of treaty is any more bad than the Federation treaty with the Klingons. "You are a fool captain, and you [Chakotay] are a fool to follow her." (winner: Best Moment) Wow, you know I hate to say this, but I'm starting to think Seska has become the character most in line with my own way of thinking. Given that she already messed with Neelix's head... I may be in love.

Seska uses an emergency protocol to beam herself onto the Kazon ship, and with the number of closing warships, Voyager can't hope to fight to get her back, so she's left with to the much worse fate of being stuck with those big haired stinky Kazons... death would surely be preferable.

Rating: 7

Comments: This episode was written by Paul Robert Coyle, whose only other Trek contribution was Whispers (the story of a seeming conspiracy around Chief O'Brien, told from his point of view, with a special twist ending that caused everything to make sense). Both these show his good handling of a mystery, far better than the pathetic excuse that Ex Post Facto was. His stories never cheat, either. One other thing I noticed was that the characters seemed to be written differently than they normally are (whether this is due to Coyle or to Christ Abbott, who did the screenplay - his only one for any Trek series- is anyone's guess) and overall it's probably an improvement. Neelix is still an annoyance, but his behavior seems more in line with how he was intended to be (as a commentator on humanity) rather than just a grin-wearing idiot with no fashion sense. There's the Maquis-Starfleet tension that should have been a constant the entire first season. The Doctor is written fairly straight and direct, like a medical program, rather than in the overwritten manner who usually is (Picardo is talented enough to make the stuff work, of course; it's merely an observation).

When taken together with Prime Factors, I think we see that the problems with the series were from the authorities rather than in the creative talents involved. These episodes are obviously far from flawless, but there are notable redeeming factors that make them more forgivable. But when you have an episode like Parallax or Emanations which has all the normal idiocy and is a bland, technobabble filled mess, these are the episodes with the most involvement by those in charge. Even The Cloud which had Michael Piller doing the script still had to fall into the cliche regarding Chakotay.

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